LIKE all things in Johor now, it looks like we have to send an urgent "SOS" to the sultan to help resolve the horrendous Causeway and 2nd Link traffic snarls of late.

When politicians and government services can't see the light of day in this protracted issue, the rakyat have no choice but appeal to the ruler to step in to help clear the endless and needless traffic jams.

THE most talked about subject in Johor over the past year must surely be the "property market". This was the talking point at most coffee shops, around dinner tables or at the pantry counters at corporate offices in Johor Baru.

IN the north, they have the Penang Bridge Run, while the Standard Chartered KL Marathon is the talk of the Central Region come October every year. Sabah and Sarawak have the Mt Kinabalu International Climbathon and Regatta Lepa.

JOHOR now wants to set up a new think-tank. The Johor Institute for Strategy, Economic Advancement and Democracy (Jisead) was announced by Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin at the end of the two-day Johor Umno Convention recently.

ISKANDAR Malaysia (IM) has come under heavy fire in recent weeks from analysts, valuers and the media for the apparent free fall of the property market here. They claim developers who were eager to make their presence felt in IM early this year are now beating a retreat because prices have slumped to an untenable level.